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EXPLOSIVE

RForster — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:01:48 +0000

A friend who writes cookbooks asked: “Did you know that you can cook an egg in the ashes of a dying fire?” Nope, I adm itted, I didn’t know that. So, when Christmas day proved to be a cold one by California standards, I lit a fire. When it died down to nothing but cinders, I ran for an egg, carefully buried it under the ash and watied. My husband and children were upstairs, I was cuddled under a quilt on the couch with a book when suddenly the egg exploded! By the time my husband and the boys got downstairs (sure that someone had taken a shot at me), I was cleaning egg shrapenel from the quilt, the fireplace and the floor. It was the most exciting thing that’s happened around here in a long time and. By the time I was done cleaning, I realized I had learned something about writing.That egg reminded me that storytelling should always be explosive, surprising and elicit emotions. Good writing also means paying attention to detail. When I told my cookbook author friend about our little egg adventure she pointed out that a missed detail – like pricking the darn egg before you put it in the fireplace - can leave me with egg (literally) on my face. Happy writing.

Naked Tree

RForster — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:50:56 +0000

I wasn’t being a Grinch when I decided not to put up a Christmas tree, I was being practical. Now that my boys are grown and living away, a tree seemed a bit silly. There were no little ones to ooh-and-ah as each ornament was unwrapped, no hands clapping as the lights went on. But I had miscalculated. When my husband and I returned from a weekend away, we were greeted with the smell of pine and one very big, very NAKED TREE in the corner of the living room courtesy of my strapping sons.

I had forgotten that Christmas wasn’t just mine, it was also my family’s. My sons weren’t ready to let go of the stockings and cookies and especially the tree. They had grown into men who still had boy ’s hearts. They weren’t about to let me get away without celebrating the season by decorating our home. Since they’d gone to so much trouble, the least I could do was oblige.

As I strung the lights and unwarapped the ornaments, I thought this was just a little bit like writing a book. Sometimes you need someone to remind you that magic isn’t practical but it is always possible. The next time I am uninspired as a writer, I will remember this Christmas lesson. Motivation, expectations and love of the process can turn a NAKED TREE – or blank page – into something precious. I will remember that the story isn’t just mine, it belongs to the people who read it. I will remember that there are those who think I have magic at my fingertips. I will remember that a blank canvas can only lead to bigger and better things.

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Here’s to the New Year and the pages we will decorate with our words and make sparkle with with our imagination. Make them as bright as Christmas lights and as shiny as glass balls that turn a NAKED TREE into magical one.

Hello World!

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:27:45 +0000

Welcome back to my corner of cyberspace! I’ve been laying low for a while: looking around, figuring it out, poking my nose in where it doesn’t (and sometimes does) belong. The end result is new energy, new ideas and renewed passion for what I love most – writing.

I began my career on a dare and I invite you to join me as I take up the challenge again. Write a poem. Do some research. Create a world of words. Submit your novel to a publisher. Let’s do it together. Let’s do it WRITE NOW!

Rebecca